{"id":44333,"date":"2020-03-09T08:10:40","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T12:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/?p=44333"},"modified":"2020-03-09T08:10:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T12:10:40","slug":"remote-teaching-readiness-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/2020\/03\/09\/remote-teaching-readiness-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Remote Teaching Readiness Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

We continue to pay close attention to developments around COVID-19 and its potential impact on Boston University. In order to prepare for the possibility that classes may be unable to meet in-person, I have asked Chris Dellarocas, Associate Provost for Digital Learning & Innovation, to lead the implementation of a Remote Teaching Readiness Plan. This plan is designed to prepare and equip faculty to continue to deliver undergraduate and graduate course content if the University were required to cease in-person classes for some period of time.<\/p>\n

If the University were required to close or otherwise cease all in-person meetings, it is our expectation that faculty will find the best approach to continue offering course content.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The goal of the readiness plan is twofold: 1) ensure awareness of the core technological tools we have in place for remote teaching, and 2) ensure that each school and college has the resources and knowledge required to support faculty in using these tools, and potentially other supplemental tools identified at the school\/college or program level, in the event of a full campus closure. I know that some of you are already offering course content remotely; for those of you already doing this, please feel free to utilize the additional support described below.<\/p>\n

Baseline remote teaching in case of an emergency campus closure should consist of faculty using Blackboard<\/strong> (or Sakai, in the case of Questrom) to host their course materials and receive student work, and using Zoom<\/strong> for remote synchronous class sessions. Zoom<\/strong> can also be used to hold qualifying examination sessions for PhD students and for dissertation defenses, if necessary.\u00a0 Information about these and other resources is available on the IS&T website<\/a>. This site provides a wealth of information about working and teaching remotely.<\/p>\n

Every school and college has designated one or more individuals to serve as their Remote Teaching Coordinators<\/strong> (RTCs). The list of RTCs is included at the end of this memo. In the event of a campus closure, faculty would be instructed to contact their school or college\u2019s RTC with any questions about remote teaching tools and capability. Boston University\u2019s Information Services & Technology<\/a>(IS&T), Educational Technologies<\/a> (EdTech) group, and Center for Teaching & Learning<\/a> (CTL) will offer secondary support to RTCs to ensure that all faculty receive adequate and timely support.<\/p>\n

The Education Technologies group is offering daily training sessions<\/a> for faculty during spring break week on Blackboard, Sakai, and Zoom. These trainings will also be recorded and made available for on-demand review. We encourage all faculty to participate in a training at their earliest convenience. If this is your first experience with these technologies, I would encourage you to work with your RTC to test your deployment of the technology. In addition, IS&T staff are working to create Blackboard sites for any courses that do not currently have a presence on Blackboard.<\/p>\n

In order to ensure that faculty have the necessary basic technology resources for remote teaching, we will send a short Digital Resiliency Survey<\/strong> to all faculty this afternoon. Please watch for a survey email from provost@bu.edu<\/a> and complete the survey from your remote teaching location<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In summary, we are asking faculty to:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Fill out the IS&T Digital Resiliency Survey<\/strong> from your remote teaching location<\/li>\n
  2. Attend an EdTech training session<\/a>, if needed, on Blackboard\/Zoom at your earliest convenience<\/li>\n
  3. Contact your school or college\u2019s RTC for assistance with any questions on technology or adapting your teaching. Your RTC will send out communications regarding the suggested steps to prepare your courses for remote teaching.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Now is the time to begin preparing for how you would plan to deliver your course material and assessments through the remainder of the semester if a closure occurs. We also ask you to be flexible throughout this emerging situation, particularly with students who might have to miss some class time due to travel or health challenges.<\/p>\n

    I want to thank everyone who has agreed to serve as a Remote Teaching Coordinator for their willingness to take on this additional responsibility. I am also grateful to all of you for your understanding as we develop this new institutional process and for your continued support for our students and other community members during this time of uncertainty.<\/p>\n

    School and College Remote Teaching Coordinators<\/strong><\/p>\n

    College of Arts & Sciences<\/span>
    \nDan Rabinowitz, Educational Technologist \u2013     cashelp@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    College of Communication<\/span>
    \nBrad Fernandes, Director of Technology \u2013     bradfern@bu.edu<\/a>
    \nDustin Supa, Senior Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Public Relations \u2013     supa@bu.edu<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n

    College of Engineering<\/span>
    \nBryan Batista, Director of Technology and Systems \u2013     batista@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    College of Fine Arts<\/span>
    \nRebekah Pierson, Associate Dean of Graduate Affairs \u2013     lambo@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    College of General Studies<\/span>
    \nMegan Sullivan, Associate Dean for Faculty Research & Development and Associate Professor of Rhetoric \u2013     msullvan@bu.edu<\/a>
    \nTom McLaughlin, Client Technology Analyst \u2013     tompm@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College<\/span>
    \nKaren Jacobs, Associate Dean for Digital Learning & Innovation and Clinical Professor \u2013     kjacobs@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies<\/span>
    \nSamantha Corron, Administrative Coordinator \u2013     scorron@bu.edu<\/a>
    \nWilliam Grimes, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of International Relations and Political Science \u2013    wgrimes@bu.edu<\/a>
    \nTalin Yaghoobian, Assistant to the Dean \u2013     tgy@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine<\/span>
    \nRichard Bourque, IT Support Consultant \u2013     rbourque@bu.edu<\/a>
    \nDan Hyacinthe, Audio\/Visual Services Manager \u2013     danh@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Metropolitan College<\/span>
    \nJulia Burstein, Executive Director, IT & Engineering \u2013     burstein@bu.edu<\/a>
    \nLeo Burstein, Director, Educational Technology & Innovation \u2013     bur@bu.edu<\/a>
    \nRoland Jaeckel, Executive Director, Office of Distance Education \u2013     rjaeckel@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Questrom School of Business<\/span>
    \nGreg DeFronzo, Executive Director, Information Technology Services and Lecturer in Information Systems \u2013     gdefronz@bu.edu <\/a><\/p>\n

    School of Hospitality Administration<\/span>
    \nHannah Fitzsimmons, Operations Manager \u2013     hfitzsim@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    School of Law<\/span>
    \nArthur Martins, Manager of Academic Media Services \u2013     lawav@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    School of Medicine<\/span>
    \nDr. Shoumita Dasgupta, Professor of Medicine \u2013     dasgupta@bu.edu<\/a>
    \nLucy Milne, Director, Educational Media \u2013     lmilne@bu.edu<\/a>
    \nChris Dorney, Director, Application Services\u00a0 \u2013     dorney@bu.edu<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n

    School of Public Health<\/span>
    \nLisa Sullivan, Associate Dean for Education and Professor of Biostatistics \u2013     lsull@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    School of Social Work<\/span>
    \nSonia Mee, Assistant Director of Online Programs \u2013     smee@bu.edu<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n

    School of Theology<\/span>
    \nBryan Stone, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Evangelism \u2013     bpstone@bu.edu<\/a>
    \nKathryn House, PhD Candidate \u2013     khouse@bu.edu<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n

    Wheelock College of Education & Human Development<\/span>
    \nEllen Faszewski, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Clinical Professor \u2013     efaz@bu.edu<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n

    Study Abroad and CELOP<\/span>
    \nMike Stoughton, Lead Client Support Specialist \u2013     mikebu@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Remote Teaching Readiness Plan \u2013 3.9.20<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer We continue to pay close attention to developments around COVID-19 and its potential impact on Boston University. In order to prepare for the possibility that classes may be unable to meet in-person, I have asked Chris Dellarocas, Associate Provost for Digital Learning & Innovation, to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5321,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,7,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44333"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5321"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44333"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44335,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44333\/revisions\/44335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}